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"The BladeGlider provides a glimpse into the potential of Nissan's electric vehicle program," Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told a press conference. "EVs have unique characteristics that open up entirely new design possibilities, possibilities that our industry has yet to fully explore and realize."

The BladeGlider, which has two in-wheel motors in the rear, is supposed to give the driver the sensation of "gliding" over the road due to his or her center position in front of the two back seats.

While Ghosn referred to it as a concept, Nissan calls the BladeGlider a "prototype of an upcoming production vehicle."

The automaker, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary, also showed powerful cars in the GT-R series: a 2014 GT-R with 545 horsepower and the GT-R Nismo, which has 600 horsepower.

Toyota exhibited five world-premiere vehicles at the event, including the FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) Concept, FV2 (Fun Vehicle 2), and a next-generation taxi.

They were a few of the many bits of eye candy, including futuristic concepts such as the shape-shifting Kawasaki J three-wheel electric motorcycle, on display at Tokyo Big Sight. Check out some of the show cars and bikes in the gallery below.

About the author

Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.
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